Theodore j



N0. 23,250- Patented Apr. [8, I899 T. J. KING &. A. U. BABENDBEIEH.

RAILWAY.

(Application filed Oct. 11, 1898.)

(No Model.)

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lINl'TED STATES PATENT Orricn.

THEODORE J. KING AND ARTHUR BABENDREIER, OF IVASI'IINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 623,250, dated April 18, 1899.

Application filed October 11,1898. Serial No. 693,218. [No modeLl To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THEODORE J. KING and ARTHUR O. BABENDREIER, citizens of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railways, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to that class of electric railways whichembrace a conduit and cars equipped with plows movable in the conduit and having shoes or other means for making electric connection with a conductor or conductors therein and supplying current to the car-motors.

In an application of ours filed September 20, 1898, and seriallynumbered 691,467, is disclosed a railway of the class mentioned embracing a car having a vertically-movable plow arranged to travel in a conduit, means for automatically raising the plow of the car to a point above the surface between the rails and for lowering it from such point to its proper operative position in the conduit while the car is in motion, means for holding the plow to its work and against casual upward movement in the conduit, means for holding the plow in its raised position, and means for automatically releasing the plow precedent to the elevation or depression of the same. This construction is calculated to be used to advantage where an electric or other underground conduit railway merges into an overhead tro1ley or other railway without a conduit, because it admits of a car being run from one into the other without stopping and without entailing the attention of the motorman or the employment of laborers. It is also designed to be used to advantage at the car-house terminals of both electric and cable railways, all as fully and clearly pointed out in our prior application of record.

The present invention relates more particularly to means for securing the plow in its raised and depressedposition and contemplates the provision of simple, durable, and reliable means which are to be depended upon to properly engage and securely hold the plow against casual movementfrom its elevated or depressed positions and yet are susceptible of inafter noted.

proper time when the same is to be raised or lowered.

WVith the foregoing in view the presentinvention will be fully understood from the following description and claims when taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a railway and port-ion'of a car embracing our invention. Fig. 2 is a detail transverse section taken in the plane indicated by the broken line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail horizontal section taken in the plane of the broken line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

In the said drawings similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the views.

Like the railway of our aforesaid prior application the railway A has a conduit a, provided with the usual slot, (not shown,) and an opening or enlargement c in communication with the same, and also has an inclined way d, the upper end of which terminates in ahorizontal portion 6, disposed in a plane slightly above the surface between the rails. The inclined way (Z has for its purpose to raise and lower the plow (presently described) incident to the passage of the car from one portion of the railway into the other portion, and the opening 0 is designed for the passage of the plow to and from the conduit after the manner fully disclosed in our aforesaid prior ap plication B is a stationary tappet which is disposed at about the point shown with respect to the inclined way (Z and has its opposite ends beveled.

O is a car which may be of the ordinary construction except in: the particulars here- It has a truck D, which in the preferred embodiment of our invention is made to carry the guide-frame E of the vertically-movable plow F, the said frame being loosely mounted upon transverse rods G on the truck, so as to enable the plow to move laterally and accommodate itself to curves in the slot and thereby obviate binding between it and the walls of the slot.

The plow shown is of the current-collectin g kind and has suitable electric devices arbeing readily disengaged from the plow at the l ranged to coact with the conductors or other electric devices with conduit for the transmission of current to the car-motor. These devices it is not deemed necessary to show, for the reason that the present invention does not reside in the plow. Indeed, as before stated, said invention is applicable to cablerailways as well as electric railways, and for this reason we desire the term plow to be understood as comprehending the cable-gripper of a cable-car as well as the current-collector of an electric car, and the term condnit as comprehending a cable or other conduit as well as an underground electric conduit.

The guide-frame E is disposed vertically, and antifriotion-wheels ff are provided on the frame and plow, respectively, to ease the movements of the latter. The frame is also provided with stops g, designed to limit the downward movement of the plow and sustain the same in its operative position in the conduit, and it further has its upper end open to facilitate the removal of the plow when the 'same is necessary for any reason, as pointed out in our aforesaid prior application.

II I are upper and lower lugs on the vertically-movable plow, and J is a latch having a lug J for engaging the lugs H I, the former to hold the plow against casual upward movement when the same is in its depressed position and the latter to hold the plow against casual downward movement when it is in its raised position. The latch is pivotally connect-ed to and hung from the frame E, and is consequently able to swing in the direction of the length of the car. Two coiled springs K are interposed between opposite sides of the latch and the frame, as shown, said springs having for their purpose to quickly return the latch to its perpendicular position when it is released or disengaged from the tappet B.

L are lugs on the latch J, andM is a springstop on the frame E. The stop has a lateral projection N, which is designed to work through an opening 13 in one of the bars of the frame E, as best shown in Fig. 3, and by assuming a position between the lugs of the latch stop and hold said latch in its perpendicular position, and thus insure the same remaining in engagement with the lug of the plow which it engages. In this way casual upward movement of the plow when said plow is in its depressed position and casual downward movement of the plow when the same is raised are effectually prevented. At its lower end the stop M has a lateral inclined arm P, which is arranged to be engaged. by a presser Q. This presser Q is in the form of a lever fulcrumed at one end and arranged to be nor- .mally held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by a rest 0-, on which it bears. It has its under side beveled, as shown to engage the tappet B, and is calculated when raised to act against cated by arrow in Fig. 2, and thereby remove previously-released stop.

lugs L of the latch J and leave said latch free to swing.

The tappet Bis arranged in the paths of the latch J and the presser Q; but inasmuch as the presser normally rests below the latch it.

will be the first to engage the tappet. WVith this understanding the general operation of the construction will be readily appreciated from the following:

The car is shown as adjacent to the inclined way d in the conduit a, and the plow is illustrated in its elevated position, the lug J of the latch being in engagement with the lower lug of the plow and the other parts resting in their proper positions. In the position shown the latch is locked by the stop M, which is securely held in engagement therewithbyits resiliency. Hence there is absolutely no liability of the plow-lug I being casually disengaged from the latchlug Jand no liability of the plow casually descending. IVhen, however, the car is moved in the direction indicated by arrow in Fig. 1, the presser Q will first be engaged by the tappet B, and, rising, will press the stop M outwardly and dis.- engage the same from the latch. The latch will then be engaged by the tappetB and will be swung in the direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow, and therebydisengaged from the plow. The latch will be held in the inclined position by the tappet B until the plow descends sufficiently to carry the lug II thereof below the latch-lug J and will then be released from the tappet and returned by the springs K to its perpendicular position. Then the latch thus returns to its perpendicular position, it will by reason of its lugs L being rounded or beveled permit the lug N of the stop M to assume a position between said lugs, the said stop being then in its nor mal position by virtue of the presser Q mov- ICO ing out of engagement with the tappet B in advance of the latch. The stop by engaging the latch in the manner described also serves to prevent the latch from swinging beyond the perpendicular when it returns to its normal position, as will be readily appreciated. When the car is moved in the direction opposite to that indicated by arrow in Fig. 1, the operation will be the same as that above described-that is to say, the presser Q will first engage the beveled end of the tappet B and the latch will be released. The latch will then engage the tappet and be caused by the same to swing so as to carry the latch-lug J out of engagement with the plow-lug H. The plow will then be raised by the inclined way dto its position above the surface between the rails, the latch being meanwhile held in its inclined position by the tappetuntil the lower lug I of the plow assumes a position above that of the lug J on the latch, when the latch will be released from the tappet and will'assume its perpendicularposition and be secured in'such positionby the In such position the projection N thereof from between the the latch will support the plow and will cfual movement, substantially as specified.

A car, a movable plow carried thereby, a movable latch arranged to engage and hold the plow against casual movement, a stop for holding the latch against casual movement, and a movable presser arranged to engage the stop and disengage the same from the latch; in combination with a railway, and means for moving the presser and the latch.

3. A car, a movable plow carried thereby, a movable latch for holding the plow against casual movement, a resilient stop for holding the latch against casual movement, and a movable presser arranged to engage the re-.

silient stop; in combination with a railway, means for moving the plow, and means for moving the presser and the latch, substantially as specified.

4:. A car, a movable plow carried thereby, a movable latch for holding the plow against casual movement, a resilient stop for holding the latch againstcasualmove1nent,and a movable presser arranged to engage the stop; in combination with a railway having a conduit and an inclined way for moving the plow out of the conduit, and a tappet for engaging the presser and the latch, substantially as specified.

5. A car, a movable plow carried thereby, a pendent swinging latch for holding the plow against casual movement, and a resilient stop for holding the latch against casual movement; said stop being movable at right angles to the direction of movement of the latch, substantially as specified.

(3. A car, a movable plow carried thereby, a swinging latch forholding the plow against casual movement, a resilient stop for holding the latch against movement; said stop being movable at right angles to the direction of movement of the latch, and a vertically-movable presser for moving the stop laterally; in combination with a railway, means for moving the plow, and means for engaging and moving the presser and the latch, sub stantially as specified.

7. A car, a guide-frame, a movable plow arranged in the frame, a swinging latchhung from the frame and adapted to engage and hold the plow against casual movement, and

a resilient stop arranged to engage the latch and hold it against casual movement; said stop having one end connected to the frame and its other end movable at right angles to the direction of movement of the latch, and having means for automatically engaging the latch, substantially as specified.

8. A car, a guide-frame, a movable plow arranged in the frame, a swinging latch hung from the frame and adapted to engage and hold the plow against casual movement, a resilient stop having one end connected to the frame and its other end movable at right angles to the direction of movement of the latch, and means on the latch and stop whereby the former is engaged by the latter, substantially as specified.

9. A car, a guide-frame, a movable plow arranged in the frame, a latch therefor hung to swing in the direction of the length of the car and having beveled lugs, and a resilient stop for the latch movable in a direction at right angles to the plane of movement of the latch and having a lug adapted to assume a position between the lugs of the latch, substantially as Specified.

10. A car, a guide-frame, a movable plow arranged in the frame, a swinging latch hung from the frame and adapted to engage and hold the plow against casual movementand having beveled lugs, a resilient stop having one end connected to the frame and also having the inclined portion and the lug adapted to engage the beveled lugs of the latch, and a vertically-movable presser for engaging the inclined portion of the stop; in combination with a railway having an inclined.way for raising the plow, and a tappet for engaging the latch and presser, substantially as specified.

11. A car, a vertically-movable plow carried thereby, a movable latch arranged to engage and hold the plow against casual movement and a stop for holding the latch against casual movement; in combination witharailway, means for automatically disengaging the stop from the latch and the latch from the plow, and means for moving the plow vertically, substantially as specified. 1

12. A car, a movable plow carried thereby, a movable latch for holding the plow against casual movement, and an automatic stop susceptible of engagement with and disengagement from the latch,substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

Jnssrn G, CRONEY, (J. H. RAEDER. 

